And what game ARE they playing?

Supervisors plan a retreat

Members of the Gloucester Board of Supervisors have a lot on their minds these days.

Building next year's budget. Finishing that pesky reassessment. And, lest we forget, a citizens' effort to remove four of them from office. That's a lot to think about (and we're only scratching the surface). So it's no wonder they need some time to sit down and bond.

The board is considering a retreat, possibly as early as January, according to county Administrator Brenda Garton. The reason: to build relationships and define their roles within county government. This is not uncommon for legislative bodies. In fact, Hampton City Council is planning one, too.

Such retreats, according to the state’s Freedom of Information Act, must be open to the public, just as any supervisors' meetings. (You will remember that a special prosecutor from Virginia Beach last month singled out four indicted board members who "deliberately acted to circumvent" the FOI act, just before asking that those misdemeanor charges be dismissed because, in the special prosecutor’s view, the acts did not violate Virginia law.)

No decisions have been made on a date or location for the retreat, but stay tuned – more details are promised. Supervisor Christian "Buddy" Rilee said it will likely occur somewhere on county property, as opposed to, say, a hotel conference room, in order to keep costs down.

Comments

Seems the BOS doesn't have a problem spending on a retreat while the county administrator is trying to cut $500,000 from this years budget so she doesn't have to fire anyone.
Knowing this BOS' history, I wouldn't make any bets this "retreat" will have any more success than their Feb. "dialogue session".

When you and your cohorts are in trouble it's always good to "retreat" and "confer" with one another to get stories straight and plan an attack againnst the opposition. How convenient to be able to use taxpayer monies to get it done. That's right, stay in the shadows long enough and "maybe " they'll forget and the danger will pass you by. I don't think the citizens are liable to forget and if they do ...lets help them remember all the obfuscation! Thanks Daily Press and all of you concerned citizens!!!

Retreat where?? I hope not at taxpayers' expense, or they can just retreat at Beaverdam Park. The whole bunch, along with the former Planning Commission, have sunk the county into the ditch. They need to regroup, recover, rethink their positions if they want to keep them. And Gloucester voters need to get on the stick and pay attention to their land and their hard-earned money going into stranger's hands.

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About the Author

I’ve been a newspaper reporter since 1991. I’ve been with the Daily Press since 2004 and live in Gloucester with my family. I’m a native Oregonian and worked for several newspapers in Oregon before moving to Virginia.